What are Electricals?

Electrical equipment is considered to be anything you plug in, so even phones and laptops that also have batteries in them are included in this category.

When this type of equipment is no longer needed by someone it becomes Waste Electronic or Electrical Equipment or WEEE! There are four main types which are explained below:

Discover

Small Electrical Appliances

Large Electrical Applicances

Fridges

Mobile Phones & Computers

Reduce

Find out how to reduce WEEE

Reuse

Find out how to reuse WEEE

Recycle

Find out about WEEE recycling

Activities

Science of Materials: Electrical Equipment

The Great Electrical Treasure Hunt

Global Issues

Climate Change
Sustainable Development Goals
Circular Economy
Sharks and rays have organs that can detect weak electric fields!
The first electrical appliance was the toaster, which was invented in the 1890s.
Enough energy to power a 60W lightbulb for six hours is saved by recycling just one plastic bottle.
Globally, e-waste constitutes more than 5 percent of all municipal solid waste and is increasing with the rise of sales of electronic products in developing countries.
A ton of used mobile phones, or approximately 6,000 handsets, contains about 3.5 kg of silver, 340 grams of gold, 140 grams of palladium, and 130 kg of copper
The manufacturing of a computer and its screen takes at least 240 kg of fossil fuels, 22 kg of chemicals and 1.5 tonnes of water - more than the weight of a rhinoceros or a car
It's been law to dispose of fridges through an approved contractor since 2002 - not least because of the greenhouse gases they contain.